Anne Leuman

When Sparks Fly: The TopRank Marketing Team’s Firework Marketing Moments

Anne Leuman on Jul 4th, 2019     Digital Marketing

Firework Marketing Moments

Marketers are a passionate breed. Whether we’re crafting content, unearthing optimization opportunities, or digging into performance metrics to understand where we went right or wrong, we’re wide-eyed and determined.

Our work is a labor of love, and we’re often driven by special moments that spark awe, imagination, and a sense of accomplishment. Those moments that make us go “Boom!” Those moments where we can sit back for a few minutes and watch in wonder. I’m talking about those firework marketing moments.

via GIPHY

What moments light up the marketing skies for some of our team members? See what makes them go oh, ah, and cheer for an encore.

Our Firework Marketing Moments 

Ashley Zeckman

Senior Director of Digital Strategy


When Sparks Fly: The TopRank Marketing Team’s Firework Marketing Moments
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Lane Ellis

Q2 Wrap-Up: Top Changes & What’s Ahead For Marketers

Lane Ellis on Jul 1st, 2019     B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

Q2 Digital Marketing Recap Technical Image

We’ve made it through the second quarter of 2019, one filled with many important B2B marketing changes and several unexpected twists and turns that will all combine to affect how the industry moves forward as we enter Q3 and push ahead to 2020.

Q2 saw several exciting shifts in entirely new directions, and a few seemingly slight directional maneuvers and adjustments that are nonetheless set to make big impacts in the coming year.

We’re always working to bring you the most relevant B2B marketing news, including weekly industry news videos from Tiffani Allen and Joshua Nite here on our blog and on our TopRank Marketing YouTube channel, and each quarter we reflect on what’s happened and look ahead with key trends.


Q2 Wrap-Up: Top Changes & What’s Ahead For Marketers
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Joshua Nite

B2B Demand Gen: The Next Evolution of 5 Tried-And-True Tactics

Joshua Nite on Jun 13th, 2019     B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

New Demand Gen Tactics

B2B demand gen used to be easier than B2C. Because, let’s face it, so much B2B marketing was deadly boring. A cool concept, a little creative design, or a dash of humor were like water in the desert.

Now, though, it’s the norm for B2B marketing to be every bit as visually and emotionally compelling as B2C. Suddenly we’re selling water by a lake, not a desert. There’s no shortage of cool content. Audiences expect more, and marketers (including your competitors) are keeping up with demand. So it’s time to take B2B demand gen to the next level.

B2B Demand Gen Tactics: The Next Evolution

What follows are some logical upgrades for some of your favorite time-tested tactics. That’s not to say, of course, that you should stop doing things that are already working. But it’s worth testing these evolutions out to see what works for your target audience.


B2B Demand Gen: The Next Evolution of 5 Tried-And-True Tactics
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Caitlin Burgess

Q1’s a Wrap, B2B Marketers: Where We’ve Been & What’s Next in 2019

Caitlin Burgess     B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

Q1 Digital Marketing Recap

We made it, B2B marketers. Spring is finally in the air and Quarter 1 is officially a wrap. Take a moment to bask in your individual, team, and business successes—you earned it.

As is tradition, in just a few short months the digital marketing industry has experienced some newsworthy shifts—from a big Google algorithm update in March to a host of new targeting and advertising features across several platforms.

To build on the Q1 successes we just celebrated—and take full advantage of new opportunities—let’s take a look back at what 2019 has gifted us so far.

What’s new and worth paying attention to? What opportunities and challenges have arisen? And what do we all need to keep in mind as we move into and beyond Q2? Let’s dive in.


Q1’s a Wrap, B2B Marketers: Where We’ve Been & What’s Next in 2019
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Alexis Hall

How B2B Marketers Can Strategically Test New Digital Marketing Tactics

Alexis Hall     B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

How to Strategically Test New B2B Marketing Tactics

When it comes to testing new marketing tactics, B2B marketers often find themselves in one of two camps:

  1. Chasing the new, shiny object. (Their motto: Let’s innovate, innovate, innovate!)
  2. Maintaining the status quo. (Their motto: We don’t mess with what’s working.)

Whichever camp you currently find yourself in, chances are high that you’re intrigued by what the other has to offer. The chasers are fearless innovators who are eager to test any new platform, media type, or strategy—and the keepers of the status quo are methodical budget managers who have proven tactics and processes on lockdown.

However, we’d suggest finding a middle (camp)ground: Testing strategically. (Your motto: I test to add to my success.)


How B2B Marketers Can Strategically Test New Digital Marketing Tactics
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Ashley Zeckman

So Long, San Diego! Top Takeaways From #SMMW19

Ashley Zeckman     Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

Have you ever experienced the post-party blues?

You know that feeling you have when the party has died down and everyone has gone home? The good news is, for years you’ll be left with the great memories of the things you learned and time you spent together (even if it was brief) long after the party ends.

While I was sad to leave sunny San Diego and the amazing marketers that I got to see and meet at Social Media Marketing World last week, I’m happy to have walked away with some incredible insights and deeper connections.

For those of you who were watching from afar (or attended but weren’t able to catch every session), I’ve included some top insights from the conference below. So, strap on your marketing (party) hat and join the festivities!


So Long, San Diego! Top Takeaways From #SMMW19
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Ashley Zeckman

Attribution Analysis: How Marketers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge & Prove Impact

Ashley Zeckman     Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World, Web Analytics

With the amount of data available today, you’d think that marketers would be confident in reporting the impact of their efforts. Unfortunately, a recent study from The CMO Survey found that the #1 C-suite communication challenge for marketers is STILL demonstrating the impact of their work on financial outcomes.

Part of the reason for this struggle is that while data is readily available, we aren’t tracking the right metrics, and may even struggle to understand how to set up proper tracking to access the information we need. And as we know, poor tracking leads to poor performance which leads to unhappy leadership teams.

In his presentation at Social Media Marketing World last week, Chris Penn took a deep dive into a framework for collecting high-quality data and the different options available for properly attributing the results of your marketing efforts.


Attribution Analysis: How Marketers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge & Prove Impact
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Anne Leuman

Dropping Digital Distractions With Brian Solis

Anne Leuman     Digital Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences, Social Media Marketing World

Brian Solis at Social Media Marketing World 2019

Photos. Texts. Emails. Video. Digital is a pivotal part of our daily lives.

So what if we stopped using it?

Brian Solis, the author of Lifescale: How to live a more creative, productive and happy life, wants us to think hard about our digital distractions and drop them from our habitual behavior. As digital marketers, this notion sounds antithetical to our mission. But Brian promises that disconnecting is beneficial to marketers as well.

Below, I share Brian’s thoughts on digital distraction and business from his session at Social Media Marketing World 2019.

Focus Is Elusive

“My ability to be creative, to dive deep, to focus, to give myself time away from my device, was not only difficult but impossible,” Brian said.


Dropping Digital Distractions With Brian Solis
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Anne Leuman

Why Marketers Need to Care About Blockchain With Joel Comm and Travis Wright

Anne Leuman     Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

Everyone has that one family member that invested in Bitcoin (or another cryptocurrency) – without knowing anything about it.

For my family, that person was my brother.

Before he invested in Bitcoin, he probably should have come with me to Joel Comm and Travis Wright’s Social Media Marketing World session on blockchain and cryptocurrency. That way he would understand the real value and potential of this new technology, instead of just blindly jumping on a hot investment trend.

One thing’s for sure after hearing from Joel and Travis – blockchain and cryptocurrency will revolutionize much of the world today, including marketing. Read on to learn why that is.

The World Is Ripe for Disruption

“Everything changes, nothing stays the same,” Joel said, using examples of disruption to prove his statement.


Why Marketers Need to Care About Blockchain With Joel Comm and Travis Wright
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Anne Leuman

Augmented Reality: How to Leverage AR in Marketing With Cathy Hackl

Anne Leuman     Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

What do you think of when you think of augmented reality?

If you’re anything like me, you first thought of Snapchat filters, Pokemon Go, or the useful measuring tape app you have on your phone.

Augmented reality (AR) and applying it to marketing campaigns is still a little bit of a mystery. It’s not as popular as other tactics, but it’s attractive because it creates more immersive experiences for customers. As a marketer, it’s something I need to learn a bit more about.

Because of this, Cathy Hackl’s session at Social Media Marketing World 2019 immediately caught my eye. As an AR technology thought leader and futurist, Cathy was able to give insight into how marketers can weave augmented reality into the marketing mix. Below, I share the top takeaways from her session.


Augmented Reality: How to Leverage AR in Marketing With Cathy Hackl
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Lane Ellis

Around the World in 50 Captivating Digital Marketing Statistics

Lane Ellis     Digital Marketing

Hot air balloons floating over the Sydney Opera House.

Sit back and join us for a journey through 50 recent digital marketing statistics that combine to tell a captivating tale of change, innovation, and generational preferences in an industry that changes faster than Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg could ever have envisioned in “Around The World in 80 Days.”

via GIPHY

Statistics exploring each of the B2B, influencer, content, and social media flavors of marketing combine to tell a captivating and unique story of how digital marketing has evolved over the past year, and offer us a great opportunity to better understand which trends the numbers are pointing to for the future.


Around the World in 50 Captivating Digital Marketing Statistics
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Ashley Zeckman

The Future (& Present) of Marketing: Collaboration, Technology & Innovation

Ashley Zeckman     B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing & PR Industry

What do you get when you combine an enterprise CMO and a partner at one of the world’s largest professional services firms?

I can’t speak for all scenarios but at B2BMX in Scottsdale this week, it led to an entertaining and insightful conversation, from two different perspectives.

Jeanniey Mullen, former CMO of Mercer and Vince Walden, Partner at Ernst and Young led an engaging discussion on the importance of innovation within organizations (large and small) as well as opportunities for better operationalizing your marketing department. Below are three ideas for how to future and present-proof your marketing.   

3 Ideas for Future-Proofing Your Marketing

Encourage Cross-Functional Collaboration

Often when brands talk about collaborating with others, it’s in the context of their own departments. Marketing teams look for insights from other marketers, salespeople look to a top seller and so on.


The Future (& Present) of Marketing: Collaboration, Technology & Innovation
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